


Basic Chemistry

by mggislife2789



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Baking, Birthday, Birthday Cake, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Unicorns
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-28
Updated: 2019-04-28
Packaged: 2020-02-08 15:52:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18626395
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mggislife2789/pseuds/mggislife2789
Summary: He has multiple PhDs, but Spencer Reid might be bested by a cake if Luke can’t help him before Penelope’s big day.Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters or their original stories. This is only for fun. It's where my brain goes after the credits roll. No copyright intended. Better safe than sorry. ;)





	Basic Chemistry

Luke heard the screaming from downstairs.

“This is basic chemistry! How could I fuck this up?”

Luke smiled to himself as he slipped the key in the lock. “Hey, babe,” he greeted cheekily. “How are you doing?”

Spencer spun around, hair flailing wildly, eyes like a madman. “How am I doing? How am I doing? I’m failing!”

“At what?”

Grabbing the plate in front of him, he presented it to Luke. “Cake! I can’t make cake! Garcia’s birthday is tomorrow and I haven’t gotten her anything because I told her I would make her a cake because it’s basic chemistry, I can make a cake, right? Apparently not!”

Luke snickered quietly to himself as he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a piece of what was supposed to be cake and popped it into his mouth. As soon as it hit his tongue, he could tell it wasn’t right. “What did you do?”

“I don’t know!” 

Luke didn’t want to laugh. Spencer was frazzled and he always wanted the best for Garcia, but when he got frustrated Luke couldn’t help but think he was cute. Focusing on the taste, he realized what Spencer had done, pulling a container forward. “You take the sugar out of here?”

“Yes, it’s the sugar container.”

“It’s the salt one,” Luke laughed, spinning it around for Spencer to read. “You’re a genius. Fucking read.”

“Fuck!” He screamed exasperatedly. “Are you saying I wasted all these ingredients and time and didn’t even get anything from it because I took from the wrong jar?”

Luke nodded and began to clean up Spencer’s mess.

Spencer went to sit down and take a breath. A heart attack probably wouldn’t be the best gift for Garcia either. With his head in his hands, he mumbled, “Help me. You’re boyfriend is hopeless. Please help me with this cake.”

Walking over to where Spencer sat on the couch, Luke kissed the top of his head. “Of course, love. Let me look at the recipe and then we can start again. What kind of cake is it anyway?” 

“Chocolate and raspberry,” Spencer replied, defeat washing over him.

It was her favorite. 

“And the outside is supposed to look like a unicorn.”

Spencer never half-assed anything, especially gift-giving. He always picked the perfect present for every person. 

Luke glanced over the recipe and noted a few changes that might make the cake a little more moist - secrets he learned from his mother. “Alright, Spence. I’ve got everything set up. Let’s do this together.”

“You sure about that? I might light the apartment on fire.”

He sounded so defeated. Luke always hated that. Spencer deserved the world - to feel amazing. “Don’t let a unicorn cake defeat you, babe. Plus, we live here. So if the apartment isn’t on fire already, it won’t ever be.”

“Smooth,” Spencer said with a hint of a smile.

With basically ever bowl in creation out on the counter, they began to measure things out. Flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, canola oil for moisture - “Okay,” Luke said, pulling the sugar container from the opposite end of the counter, “Sugar.”

“Shut up.” Spencer hip-checked Luke and took him off guard, nearly pushing him over it weren’t for the fact that he’d left the refrigerator door open grabbing a drink a few minutes before.

Spencer beat the ingredients together so hard some of the mixture went flying onto Luke’s arm and before they knew it they were flicking cake mixture at each other. Surely, Garcia wouldn’t mind if they cake was a bit smaller than it was supposed to be, especially if “newbie” got cake batter in his hair. 

Before putting the cakes into their tins and into the oven, Luke spooned out a bit of the batter to taste. “Tastes good to me.”

Spencer sighed at his own stupidity. “I can’t believe i didn’t taste the damn batter.”

Baking the cakes and leaving them to cool took longer than Spencer intended and he ended up having a panic attack that things weren’t going to be ready in time or that he was somehow going to screw it up again. While they waited for the cakes to cool, they watched a movie, Spencer laying back against Luke’s chest as he played with his hair.

Finally the cakes were cool enough to assemble with the raspberry jam Spencer had made the day before. “I can frost it and make it all smooth, but when it comes to making the unicorn I guarantee you I’ll fuck it up.”

“I’ll do the decorations. I think I’ll be okay with the precision...at least I hope so,” he replied, doubt creeping back into his mind. “I know I sound ridiculous. I mean it’s just a cake, but-”

Luke interrupted, “I get it, Spence. I know how much pride you take in the gift-giving department.”

“I really do. I just want her to love it.”

Spencer gathered all the food coloring and the buttercream frosting he was going to use to ice the cake and began designing the unicorn’s mane. Slowly but surely it came together and with Luke’s moral support Spencer relaxed little by little. 

After a couple hours of painstakingly slow work, the mane and eyes were done so he placed it in the refrigerator to work on the horn and ears. Luke went about his day, doing the chores that Spencer would normally do so that he could focus on his cake. By the end of the day, it was done and Spencer was exhausted. “How does it look?”

“It looks amazing,” Luke said in awe. “I saw it coming together, but the finished product looks even better.”

“Thanks. She’ll like it, right?”

Luke laughed, beckoning Spencer over to the couch to sit down. “She’ll love it. See? Basic chemistry.”

“Not so basic apparently,” he replied, plopping down beside his boyfriend.

“Or maybe you could just learn how to read,” Luke said with a snort.

Spencer reached behind himself and grabbed a pillow to smack him in the face. “Or maybe you can shut up!”


End file.
